Improvement in postal cards



c K. MARSHALL.,

Jlbtornay N. FEYERS, FHOTO-LITHUGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D CA UNITED l FICE.

FOURTH OF HIS RIGHT TO NATANIEL H. HARRIS.

Y IMPROVEMENT IN POSTAL CARDS.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 193,012, 4dated July 10, 1877; application filed i January 20, 1876.`

To all whom 4it may concern Beit known that I, CHARLES K. MARSHALL, of Vicksburg, in the county of Warren and State of Mississippi, have invented` certain Improvements in Postal Cards, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,

reference `being had to the accompanying drawing, and the letters of reference marked thereon, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a reverse planview of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a modification of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the postal card as it appears before it is used.

The nature of my invention is a new article of manufacture; and consists in a single postal card provided with two stamps, and A which may be arranged at the opposite ends of the same face of the card, `o"r one on each face, one stamp being designed to carry the' card containing the inquiry or other written" or pri n ted matter from a party to his correspondent, an d the duplicate stanp to prepay its return with the correspondents replyhand with duplicate spaces for a double address, and duplicate spaces, oneoi which to write for the intorina-r tion sought, and theother for the response thereto.

The ordinary and well-established usage ot' societyrenders it almostobligatory in business and professional correspondence-,when a party writes to another seeking information inregard to a matter in which he alone is inter: ested, that he should-forward the means necessary to defray the postal expense which a reply involves. .When such correspondence is conducted by letter, custom requires a stamp to be inclosed; butas'yet Iam-not" aware that, previous to my invention, any attempt to successfully provide the means of forwarding in connection with a single postal card astamp to payreturn postage, has been'essayed. An`d it is the successful meeting oi'this Want, which, in view of the-general use of postal cards, is

A now almost universally felt, that not only con.

stitutes the novelty of the invention, but im#` parts to it its chief value and importance. To forward to a correspondent an ordinary postal card to be returned with an answer to the information sought requires, in order to protect its stamp, that it should be inclosed in an envelope, which necessitates the use of a three` `cent stamp, and making', with the card, the

postage four cents, while, with my improved card, the' entire expense is only twol cents; and thus what hasV long been considered a great desideratum is now furnished for all that general class of correspondence which is now carried on through the medium of postal cards.

The construction and operation of .my inve'n-V tion are as follows:

On-the face of the card, as shown at Figf 1, are tWoistamps-one above and at the righthandrcorner of the space A, and the other in the same position when the card is reversed to be used for the return address to be written on the space B. l These spaces A B, for the double address, may be ruled or lined, as is now customary. The back of the card, Fig. 2, .is blankand consists of spaces C D, opposite the address, the space G being for the inquiry or other information sought to be writ-v ten on, and the space D for the reply, or vice versa.

At Fig. 3 is shown a modification of my improved postal card, in which, instead of having the' duplicate stamps on the face of the card, it is contemplated to stamp the reverse side of the card as well as what is ordinarily its face. In this case one nside is used for the information sought andthe address, the same.y being written on spacesA C, and the other forlthe return address and the reply, written on what will correspondto spaces B D.

In carrying out my invention it is not contemplated, as has heretofore been done by others, to make two postal cards united together, and each of such cards of equal size and weight, which size and weight is that legalized in the United States or in foreign governments; but I adopt a single card of either the'present size and weight of postal cards, or of a size and weight which will be, say, about one-third morethan the present single card, which latter size and weight Awill make the card of 'an area equal to whai'is now known as the N o. 5 letter-envelope, and thus afford convenience for handling at the dis.- tributing post offices.

A card of this latter-mentioned size will not.A

.a word, my postal card is in no sense tw postal cards, each of which is of the legalized A size and weight of the known postal cards of this and foreign governments, but it is a single card not to be folded, and of the size and weight to be determined by the government sanctioning its use, and adapted for doing the Work 0f two Single cardsJ What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

i. As a new article of manufacture, a single unfolded or unfoidable postal card, consisting ef the. Sections A B .G'D and the duplia stamps, whereby an inquiry can be made and au answer returned, Simply Qmnlqyiug a .Siugle card, substantially as described.

2. A section of a single postal card con structed with a writing-surface to receive the address and the Written inquiry of the. person sending it, and a stamp for paying the postage, inrv combination with a duplicate section of said postal card,'which duplicate is an extension on the saine plane of the rst-mentioned section of the postal card, and' is attached thereto and spread out'when mailed, and is used, when received by theperson to whomI the inquiry is addressed, for writing an answer and an address upon, and for paying the return postage, all as and for the purpose described.`

In testimony whereof I have Signed my narne to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

o, K. MARSHALL.

Witnesses GENELLA., L.. 1 JOSEPH GENELLA! 

